A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Labor costs are included in the prices contractors negotiate with the Department of Defense (DOD), and include pension costs as these are a normal element of employee compensation. Contractors make two sets of calculations for their defined benefit pension plans, following two sets of standards: (1) Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), which determine how pension costs are allocated to government contracts; and (2) Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which establishes the minimum contribution required to fund plans. In 2008, revised ERISA rules altered the minimum funding requirements, causing CAS costs and ERISA contributions to diverge further apart. ERISA contributions have therefore greatly exceeded CAS pension costs reflected in contract prices. In December 2011, almost 4 years after ERISA changes took effect, the CAS Board, which is part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), made changes to CAS that harmonized them to ERISA in order to gradually reduce the difference between the two calculation methods."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

The application of microchannel technology for distributive distillation was studied to achieve the Grand Challenge goals of 25% energy savings and 10% return on investment. In Task 1, a detailed study was conducted and two distillation systems were identified that would meet the Grand Challenge goals if the microchannel distillation technology was used. Material and heat balance calculations were performed to develop process flow sheet designs for the two distillation systems in Task 2. The process designs were focused on two methods of integrating the microchannel technology – 1) Integrating microchannel distillation to an existing conventional column, 2) Microchannel distillation for new plants. A design concept for a modular microchannel distillation unit was developed in Task 3. In Task 4, Ultrasonic Additive Machining (UAM) was evaluated as a manufacturing method for microchannel distillation units. However, it was found that a significant development work would be required to develop process parameters to use UAM for commercial distillation manufacturing. Two alternate manufacturing methods were explored. Both manufacturing approaches were experimentally tested to confirm their validity. The conceptual design of the microchannel distillation unit (Task 3) was combined with the manufacturing methods developed in Task 4 and flowsheet designs in Task 2 to …

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is a warm-season, C4 annual crop commonly grown for grain and forage worldwide. It has a relatively short generation time, yet produces hundreds of seeds per inflorescence. The crop is inbred and it has a small-size genome (~500 Mb). These features make foxtail millet an attractive grass model, especially for bioenergy crops. While a number of genomic tools have been established for foxtail millet, including a fully sequenced genome and molecular markers, the objectives of this project were to develop a tissue culture system, determine the best explant(s) for tissue culture, optimize transient gene expression, and establish a stable transformation system for foxtail millet cultivar Yugu1. In optimizing a tissue culture medium for the induction of calli and somatic embryos from immature inflorescences and mature seed explants, Murashige and Skoog medium containing 2.5 mg l-1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 0.6 mg l-1 6- benzylaminopurine was determined to be optimal for callus induction of foxtail millet. The efficiency of callus induction from explants of immature inflorescences was significantly higher at 76% compared to that of callus induction from mature seed explants at 68%. The calli induced from this medium were regenerated into plants at high frequency (~100%) …

The goal of this proposed work is to develop and optimize the synthesis of mesoporous nanoparticle materials that are able to selectively sequester fatty acids from hexane extracts from algae, and to catalyze their transformation, as well as waste oils, into biodiesel. The project involves studies of the interactions between the functionalized MSN surface and the sequestering molecules. We investigate the mechanisms of selective extraction of fatty acids and conversion of triglycerides and fatty acids into biodiesel by the produced nanoparticles. This knowledge is used to further improve the properties of the mesoporous nanoparticle materials for both tasks. Furthermore, we investigate the strategies for scaling the synthesis of the catalytic nanomaterials up from the current pilot plant scale to industrial level, such that the biodiesel obtained with this technology can successfully compete with food crop-based biodiesel and petroleum diesel.

Based on lab-scale simulations of Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) slurry chemistry, the addition of sodium nitrite and sodium hydroxide to waste slurries at concentrations sufficient to take the aqueous phase into the alkaline region (pH > 7) with approximately 500 mg nitrite ion/kg slurry (assuming <25 wt% total solids, or equivalently 2,000 mg nitrite/kg total solids) is sufficient to effectively deactivate the noble metal catalysts at temperatures between room temperature and boiling. This is a potential strategy for eliminating catalytic hydrogen generation from the list of concerns for sludge carried over into the DWPF Slurry Mix Evaporator Condensate Tank (SMECT) or Recycle Collection Tank (RCT). These conclusions are drawn in large part from the various phases of the DWPF catalytic hydrogen generation program conducted between 2005 and 2009. The findings could apply to various situations, including a solids carry-over from either the Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) or Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) into the SMECT with subsequent transfer to the RCT, as well as a spill of formic acid into the sump system and transfer into an RCT that already contains sludge solids. There are other potential mitigating factors for the SMECT and RCT, since these vessels are …

Since the early 1980s, there has been a historically unprecedented increase in the federal prison population. Some of the growth is attributable to changes in federal criminal justice policy during the previous three decades. An issue before Congress is whether policymakers consider the rate of growth in the federal prison population sustainable, and if not, what changes could be made to federal criminal justice policy to reduce the prison population while maintaining public safety. This report explores the issues related to the growing federal prison population.

This report explains how the federal government is involved directly in hydropower generation at federal facilities and in the regulation of nonfederal hydropower generation; the focus is on current roles and processes and common concerns and questions about changing those roles.

This report provides an overview and analysis of congressional advisory commissions, information on the general statutory structure of a congressional commission, and a catalog of congressional commissions created since the 101st Congress.

This report answers several frequently asked questions about military health care, including: how the system is structured, a TRICARE summary, TRICARE eligibility and plan options, cost of military health care to beneficiaries, relationship of TRICARE to MEDICARE, how the Affordable Care Act affects TRICARE, long-term trends of defense health care costs, and a summary of the fund which funds TRICARE.

This report provides basic information on the Global Security Contingency Fund (GSCF) legislation. It starts with a brief discussion of the conceptual origins of the legislation and then summarizes the legislation's provisions. It concludes with a short analysis of salient issues.

This report explains the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (also referred to as PAS positions). It also identifies, for the 111th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation in 40 organizations in the executive branch (27 independent agencies, 6 agencies in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), and 7 multilateral organizations) and 4 agencies in the legislative branch. It excludes appointments to executive departments and to regulatory and other boards and commissions, which are covered in other reports.

This report discusses procedures and related issues involved in considering changes to Senate rules.

Since the mid-1990s, tensions have spiked periodically among Japan, China, and Taiwan over the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) islets in the East China Sea. Each time tensions erupt over the islets, questions have arisen concerning the U.S. relationship to the islets. This report focuses on that issue.

This report has four sections. The first describes recent developments in weather and policy. The second provides an overview of the current U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance programs: federal crop insurance, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) payments, and emergency disaster loans. The third section discusses the now-expired disaster programs under the 2008 farm bill, specifically Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) and four other smaller disaster programs. The fourth section briefly reviews congressional issues. An appendix reviews the recent history of emergency supplemental farm disaster assistance and administrative actions by USDA.

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States, resulting in more than 120 deaths and the major disaster declarations for 12 states plus the District of Columbia. The Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and damages from Hurricane Sandy, as well as to mitigate the damage from future disasters in the impacted region. This summary report analyzes the Administration's request, the House-passed legislation, and the Senate position as reflected in Senate-amended H.R. 1 from the 112th Congress.

This report discusses the prevalence of "neglected tropical diseases" (NTDs), U.S. and global actions to address them, and options the 113th Congress might consider.

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Report on project to install and monitor measurement systems for five farmers withing the El Paso County Water Improvement District.

Model Evaluation Well ER-11-2 was drilled for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office in support of Nevada Environmental Management Operations at the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site). The well was drilled in August 2012 as part of a model evaluation program in the Frenchman Flat area of Nye County, Nevada. The primary purpose of the well was to provide detailed geologic, hydrogeologic, chemical, and radionuclide data that can be used to test and build confidence in the applicability of the Frenchman Flat Corrective Action Unit flow and transport models for their intended purpose. In particular, this well was designed to provide data to evaluate the uncertainty in model forecasts of contaminant migration from the upgradient underground nuclear test PIN STRIPE, conducted in borehole U-11b in 1966. Well ER-11-2 will provide information that can be used to refine the Phase II Frenchman Flat hydrostratigraphic framework model if necessary, as well as to support future groundwater flow and transport modeling. The main 31.1-centimeter (cm) hole was drilled to a total depth of 399.6 meters (m). A completion casing string was not set in Well ER-11-2. However, a piezometer string was …